


Should've Been a Cowboy

by TullyBlue



Series: Ned Stark Loves Country Music: Confirmed [1]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Mid-life Crisis, Modern AU, Ned Stark loves country music: confirmed, Song Inspired, don't yall start coming for me because this is country music based okay, other characters are mentioned but don't appear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-08
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2019-08-20 06:27:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16550666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TullyBlue/pseuds/TullyBlue
Summary: At some point, everyone feels like they aren't on the right career path.





	Should've Been a Cowboy

**Author's Note:**

> Some things, before we get into this.
> 
> This will be an AU with a few drabbles, most likely. The idea comes from my unshakable conviction that Ned Stark would absolutely love country music. As a modern AU, Robert's Small Council has turned into a version of the US's county government, Court of Commissioners. Instead of kingdoms, the seven parts of Westeros are now seven towns in Westeros County. Some lame name changes were made - the Vale of Arryn, now Arrynvale, etc. The only real change to canon is that instead of running away and having a secret love child, Rhaegar and Lyanna spend approximately six months married before he dies. She and Jon live in modern Winterfell with Ned and his family. Good ole Bobby B has never stopped loving her, even after a marriage and various affairs. As the first installment, it does a pretty decent world building job, so the next ones won't be so heavy-handed in seemingly useless details.
> 
> This one's based on Toby Keith's Should've Been a Cowboy.

It was Monday, so obviously something had to go wrong. Ned was close to running late, he was wearing a second choice tie because the first had a bagel's worth of cream cheese on it, his bagel was still in the floorboard of his car, and he wanted nothing more than to turn around and go home. However, he had a job to do. As the Winterfell representative in the county's Court of Commissioners, he rarely took a day off that wasn't scheduled. The hour commute didn't endear help him to the job.

In fact, the entire reason he took this job wasn't even endearing him to it anymore. Robert Baratheon had once been his best friend and, in a few ways, hero. As teenagers, they were both sent to school in Arrynvale and bonded over home sickness and archery. Robert was a charismatic, vivacious young man; he earned recognition for various sports and a short but passionate stint in student government. After graduating, they both attending King's Landing University where Robert earned a Public Administration degree with a minor in PoliSci. Ned, however, always intended to take over his family's vast agricultural business after the death of both his father and brother - from their vast stables and ranch to their famed glass gardens. He earned an Agricultural Business degree with a minor in PoliSci to take a few more classes with his best friend. They graduated college filled with dreams and ambitions. Ned wanted nothing more than return to Winterfell and his home, to raise his children and run his family's business; tired of the hold the Targaryen family had on the county's government, Robert decided to aim for the position of County Judge. The two friends remained close after college as they both worked towards their goals. Robert helped arrange the funerals of Eddard's father and brother, kept Ned on his feet as Catelyn walked down the aisle towards him, and was one of the first people to hold Robb the night he was born. Ned remained just as loyal a friend, frequently skipping out on sleep to drive a few towns over and fish Robert from various bars while he tried to drink away Lyanna's repeated rejection. While he didn't support his friend's marriage to Cersei Lannister, he nonetheless acted as best man. Then, after a dozen years of happily running the Stark Ranch and Farms, Ned became CEO of his family business in all but name when he joined Robert's Court of Commissioners. Now, his wife Catelyn, sister Lyanna, and good friend Howland Reed were left to the day-to-day details of the Stark enterprise.

Robert had come to the Starks' home specifically to ask Ned to join his Court, and how could he say no? His best friend had been so full of ideas and a yearning for change, to better the towns in the area and pave a brighter way for their children's future. Of course, he was honored to be asked to run.

And of course, there wasn't a single person in Wintertown who could think of anyone better to represent them than a Stark.

So, five years later, he considers himself officially burnt out. He misses waking up with the sun, the huge breakfast because who was sure if he'd have enough time for lunch? He misses working the horses, supervising the orchard harvest, tilling the glass gardens right before the fall harvest. Above all that, he misses his family. None of his children had been raised to slack in their work, helping out on the ranch daily. His son Robb and nephew John could herd their cattle with nothing but their two fantastically well behaved Belgian Shepards. Sansa, his perfect little lady, would tend to the glass gardens and sing to the plants. Arya, a miniature of his wild sister, split her time between the stables and her fencing instructor. His middle son Bran was also quite taken with the horses - though he preferred training them to watching them be broken in, like his sister. Little Rickon was only three still too small to help out, content to toddle after Catelyn while she managed the whole place or attempt to ride his own Shepard like his siblings do their horses. Ned hated being away from his family and his business. Politics were exhausting.

Next year, he would be expected to run for re-election. He didn't plan on it. Winterfell needed him, and not sitting on a committee watching his friend lose interest in his career and community.

Ned checked the clock and sighed. For the next twenty minutes, he could at least daydream about his upcoming career change. When he arrived in the county seat of King's Landing, reality would return. He resolved to get through the day and talk to Robert about taking a few days of in the coming month to spend more time with his family. With that in mind, he turned up the radio and started flipping to his presets knowing a good mood boost would help make the best of a bad situation.

"-Dunk and Egg's classic hit-"

___"-breaking news on the new sept being built-" _____

_____"-Been a Cowboy!" _____ _ _

______He paused, hoping he'd heard that right. When a familiar melody came on, Ned grinned. He let out a deep breath, turned up the dial, and sent a grateful thought to his gods that he was alone in the car. No one else needed to hear his singing._ _ _ _ _ _

_____For the duration of the song, he sang his heart out. By the gods, he _should_ have been a cowboy. He wasn't interested in ditching his family or wife, but the adventure? The sense of being his own man on his own time? That's what he wanted. _ _ _ _ _

________He could picture it now, his own modern day cowboy fantasy. Turning his car around, sending a resignation email to Robert and then throwing his frustratingly advanced laptop right into his home office and losing the key to the door. He would return to his animals and crops, his family and friends. Ned wistfully thought of the frequent pseudo-camping trips he, Howland, and their horses ended up on when herding the cattle. His personal mount, Ice, was a beautiful grey Shire. Now, both he and Ice were edging closer to the grumpy old man stage of life instead of the adventurous cowboy age. That didn't stop him from picturing both himself and Ice in their prime, working with the long line of Belgian Shepards the Cleganes bred to reign his cattle in. Hell, he'd even take working with the hogs and hens over the slimy characters he had met in his political career. Yeah, he should've been a cowboy._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The song ended and he went on with his day._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Mr. Stark, I _know _that you are interested in funding the new elementary schools in our three poorest towns - Arrynvale, Ironton, and Wintertown, respectively - but between King's Landing's renovations to the historic Sept of Baelor and the efforts we have put forth to help Storm's End recover from their last flood, the money simply isn't there."___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"On top of that," Varys, the county's overly invested assessor, "we would once again have to raise property taxes and the people are still mad about the hike two years ago to furnish KLHS with that pompous indoor football field."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Varys was often annoying of the people and for the people, while Petyr Baelish had spent the last two months shooting down every attempt Ned had made at bettering the education system in Westeros. The man was an old friend of his wife's but soon not even his sense of duty to his job would stop him from punching the guy in his smarmy face, let alone a menial family connection. Besides, even Cat thought Baelish was too conniving to trust anymore. He may have come from the poorest district in Riverland, but he seemed to be determined to rise as high as he could. There were even rumors that he was thinking of applying for the Senate, which was laughable itself. Baelish merely sat on the county committee as it's treasurer. He wasn't even an elected official._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Before Ned could lose his temper, Robert called for the day to come to an end. Any and all decisions could be finalized another day. Those schools would be built if Ned had to fund them himself, by the gods._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He was just closing his laptop and finishing his cold coffee when Robert approached him. "I'll make sure _Littlefinger _over there," he said with a snort, "stops hassling you about those elementaries. We'll get them built, Ned, no problem."___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Ned felt his first smile in hours come onto his face, only to fall when Robert started laughing at his own comment and gave Ned a good whiff of the tequila on his breath. Tomorrow, he would confront Robert. Tonight, he would go home and plan the upcoming harvest with Lyanna, then have dinner with his family. Tonight, he wouldn't worry about his best friend falling far below their county's and his own standards. He resolves to go home, and anything else beyond that can wait._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


End file.
